Thursday, November 29, 2012

Yesterday we had the first of many storms to hit the Bay
Area. It was filled with heavy down
pours and gusty winds. If you are familiar
with the lay of the land in the bay area, you know that we have many counties
relatively close together along with unique traffic patterns. Not too mention, quite a bit of traffic. I needed to be in multiple locations for
various meetings for work. I actually
traveled across different 5 counties during the day and covered quite a bit of
distance. In the midst of my travels I
contended with heavy down pours and strong winds along with highways that had
built up water. It was quite a day
indeed. The good news is that I made it
home safely.

We are expected to have similar storms through Sunday this
week. With that, it is a perfect time to
make comfort food for our Friday Night Bites that we celebrate each Friday
evening. Pizza and beer is a classic
pairing and perfect for a casual evening at home. If you know me, I need to add
the Authentic Suburban Gourmet spin.
With my slight obsession this year with pumpkin, I created a pizza with
roasted pumpkin and caramelized onion. I
felt this combination was a marriage made in heaven. I tossed in some fresh sage leaves and really
good white cheddar cheese. The result
was a combination of savory fall flavors on top of rich crispy yet chewy pizza
dough. Completely satisfying!

We have a tradition in our family that over the holidays,
especially during Christmas, my brother brings the latest vintage of the AnchorSteam’s Christmas Ale. Each year a new
recipe is created and varies slightly from the prior year. As the label at the top states for the 2012
vintage – “This is the thirty eighth “Our Special Ale” from the brewers at
Anchor. It is sold only from early November to mid January. The Ale’s recipe is different every year, as
is the tree on the label, but the intent with which we offer it remains the
same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees
have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears
born anew.”

With the rich, dark spiced ale, I felt this was a perfect
pairing for the fall pumpkin and caramelized pizza. I made each pizza more of an individual
serving size since it was just hubby and I; however, you could cut into smaller
pieces and serve to a small crowd. The
recipe is a bit “loose” so you can increase or decrease the amount of each
ingredient you put on top to customize to your preference. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Caramelized Onion Pizza

Pizza dough (handmade or store bought) (I used Trader Joe’s)

1 Cup Roasted Fresh Pumpkin, cut into small cubes

1 Large Onion, peeled, cut in half and sliced thin

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Fresh sage leaves

Garlic powder

White cheddar cheese

Pumpkin:

Take one sugar pumpkin and cut into quarters and remove
seeds and pulp. With a sharp knife, cut
away the outside skin. Then cut into ½ cubes. Lay onto a sheet pan with sides and toss with
olive oil and salt. Bake for 30 minutes
at 350 degrees or until tender. Remove
from oven and set aside to cool.

Caramelized Onions:

Slice a large onion in half, peel the skin and slice each
half into thin slices. Use a large
skillet. Over medium heat, melt the 2
tablespoons of butter, then add the sliced onions, sugar and season with salt
and pepper. Over medium heat, toss everything together to completely coat the
onions. Stir frequently and cook until
golden brown. Should be about 15 to 20
minutes. Set aside.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

Shape the dough into mini pizzas or one large, your
preference. Drizzle with olive oil and
sprinkle desired amount of garlic powder over dough. Spread the desired amount of caramelized onions
and then put the desired amount of the roasted pumpkin cubes over the
onions. Season with a bit of salt and
pepper. Sprinkle the desired amount of
grated white cheddar cheese on top. Add
some of the fresh sage leaves over the cheese.
Bake on a pizza stone for best results. Cook until the edges of the
pizza are golden brown – about 15 minutes. Add a few fresh sage leaves prior to serving.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Desserts in Jars – what a perfect
concept!They are easy, compact, simple
and easy to serve.Desserts in Jars is a
new cookbook from Shaina Olmanson from the popular blog Food for MyFamily.Shaina has a pedigree of accolades
to her credit – from being ranked in the top ten in Babble.com’s 2011 list of
the 100 best food blogs for moms to being named a “Top 10 Family Cooking Blog”
by My Life Scoop.Kudos to Shaina!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

I love, love this time of
year.The weather just looks and smells
like the fall season with winter around the corner.Here in the Bay Area, we are beggining to experience rain and often chilly nights.It
is the perfect weather for having a fire at night and tons of blankets for
watching our favorite television programs.Hubby and I are currently making our way through the "Countdown to Christmas" which features new holiday movies on the Hallmark channel.They are "feel good" movies that 9 out 10 times have a romantic story behind them.Okay, we are saps for a great romantic
storyline.Smile.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving to each
and everyone!Thanksgiving is a day to
reflect on all of the gifts we have.Be
thankful. Be grateful. Be appreciative. Be with family and friends. Be able to
give back in a small or large way to others.

I am personally thankful for
so much - my wonderful hubby, terrific family, great friends, health, rewarding
career and to work for a special company and my cute doggie Max. I am very thankful for
all of YOU, my faithful readers of my blog.
These are at the top of the list, but I could go on for quite sometime,
but won’t bore you. I do work for an
outstanding organization that is like a second family. Our Director of Human Resources sent an email
out to the entire company to ask everyone to share what they are grateful
for. The response was overwhelming with
high percentage of the company responding – that speaks volumes.

An “All Employee” email
was sent out yesterday revealing what everyone was thankful for. The common theme was family, friends, and the
wonderful organization we work for. A
few unique items were thrown in such as being thankful for Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers music, but if that is what that person is thankful for – more power
to him or her. Smile. At the top of the email
was a quote that sort of says it all….. “Acknowledging
the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all
abundance” Eckhart Tolle.

With Thanksgiving Day being
the kick off to the holiday season, a big part of the many celebrations is
food.Today we will be celebration the
holiday with my parents and my siblings and their family – I can’t wait to see
everyone.Each year we divide and
conquer the food duties.I am in charge
of bringing the appetizers. Surprise huh?Wink. Smile.I am bringing a
quick and tasty appetizer that has been a staple for quite sometime.It is the perfect appetizer to make when you
need a last minute appetizer that will impress your guests.

My Ham and Cheese Palmiers
are quick, easy and pack a punch of flavor.
The presentation looks like you slaved for hours in the kitchen. A perfect pairing for these delights is your
favorite Chardonnay. One of my all time
favorite Chardonnays is from Grgich Hills Estate. They craft their wines from grapes that are
organic and biodynamic along with no malolactic fermentation which in turn
retains the acidity. The aromas and
flavors found from this wine are tropical fruits, orange blossom honey and
toasted almonds. There is certain
richness and butter tones as you sip through this delightful wine.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff
pastry to 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the pesto over the entire pastry leaving
1/3 inch free of pesto along the edges.
Sprinkle the grated Jarlsburg over pastry and then lay the ham over the
cheese to cover.

Roll one side tightly to the middle, then roll the
other side to middle and press slightly together. Wrap in plastic wrap and
chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife, cut into ½ inch
slices thick.

Place on prepared baking sheet spacing the rolls 1
inch apart. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until rolls are puffed and golden. Let
cool 10 minutes before serving.

Monday, November 19, 2012

It is Secret Recipe Club time again.Boy how time flies.Not familiar with secret recipe club, well
let me let you in on the secret.No pun
intended. Wink. Smile.It is a group of talented food bloggers who
are paired monthly with another blogger in the group.You have time to browse through your assigned
blogger’s blog to find the perfect recipe that you want to make.When reveal day comes along, you can see who
was matched with you and what recipe they chose from your blog.It is so much fun to see what folks select
and how they adapt it to their own personal style.

This month I was assigned to Danielle from Hugs & Cookiesxoxo. She is a mom to two wonderful boys named Jaden and Jakey and she calls her husband - "Prince Charming" - that is super cute. She teaches first grade and loves baking, cooking, blogging and spending time with her beautiful family. She has numerous recipes that are tantalizing and can cure any sweet tooth. After browsing through her blog several times, I kept coming back to the Carmelita Bars. They have been on my list for quite sometime and this was the perfect opportunity to make them.Caramel is one of my favorite things. After analyzing the recipe, I thought I would
create my own caramel squares versus the ones from the store. The fleur de sel caramels recipe is from InaGarten of the Barefoot Contessa fame and as like the Carmelita bars, that
recipe had been a “must make” for quite some time. If you click here, you can see my post for
the fleur de sel and I have also included in this post. I must warn you, it is highly addictive. Smile.

I brought these CarmelitaBars to one
of my offices the next day and they flew off the plate like wild fire. In fact one person in the office, who shall
remain nameless, ate over 10 of them that day. I am sure they hit the gym after
work. Smile.

Cut the fleur de sel caramels into small pieces and
spread over the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Sprinkle crust with chocolate
chips and pecans then top with reserved crumbs, pressing gently to secure.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or till golden brown. Cool at least
one hour before cutting.

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Vegetable oil

1 ½ cups sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

1 sup heavy cream

5 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon fine fleur de
sel, plus extra for sprinkling

1 teaspoon vanilla

Line an 8 inch square pan
with parchment paper and brush the paper with oil, while allowing the paper to
drape over 2 sides.

In a deep saucepan combine ¼
cup water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high
heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm
golden brown. Don’t stir; just swirl the
pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will
burn quickly towards the end.

In the meantime, in a small
pan, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of fleur de Sel to a simmer over
medium heat. Turn off the heat and set
aside.

When the sugar mixture is a
warm golden color, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the
sugar mixture. Be very careful, it will
bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla
with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes reaches
248 degrees (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.
Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate
for a few hours, until firm.

When the caramels are cold,
pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the sheet in half. Starting with the long side, roll into one
piece of the caramel up tightly into an 8 inch log. Repeat with the second piece. Sprinkle both logs with fleur de sel, trim
the ends, and cut each log in 8 pieces.
Cut glassine or parchment papers into 4 x 5 inch pieces and wrap each
caramel individually, twisting the ends.
Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

I absolutely love caramel!
If you were to give me a choice between chocolate and caramel – the choice
would be a resounding thumbs up for caramel. Still love chocolate, but if had to choose, caramel is the winner. With the explosion of flavored,
salted and burnt caramels – I am in caramel heaven.

Several years ago, I had bookmarked this recipe from Ina
Garten and finally got around to making these delightful caramels. The result was amazing. They were creamy, soft and had a perfect
balance of rich caramel flavor along with the hint of salt from the fleur de
sel - simply sublime.

Yesterday numerous college friends and I celebrated our dear
friend Pam’s milestone birthday. It was
such a remarkable day to be with long time friends and catching up on everyday
life and a bit of gossip thrown in for good measure. Wink.
It still astounds me how fast time is flying by and hearing about
everyone’s kids growing up. Some are heading
off to college while others are still in middle school and high school.

Perhaps it is just my opinion, but I truly believe that
everyone is aging extremely gracefully and life is treating everyone well. Good friends are a treasure. Despite everyone living busy lives, it seems
like yesterday when we are able to get together and spend time with each other.

As a quick preview, tomorrow is the big reveal for the
Secret Recipe Club and my selection will incorporate these fleur de sel
caramels. I brought them to one of my
offices and let’s just say that one person (who will remain nameless) ate over
10 of the delights I made.

These caramels were so simple to make and worthy of being
highlighted for my Simply Sublime series.
Thank you Ina for another foolproof recipe!!

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Vegetable oil

1 ½ cups sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

1 sup heavy cream

5 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling

1 teaspoon vanilla

Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper and brush the
paper with oil, while allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides.

In a deep saucepan combine ¼ cup water, the sugar and corn
syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden
brown. Don’t stir; just swirl the pan to
mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn
quickly towards the end.

In the meantime, in a small pan, bring the cream, butter and
1 teaspoon of fleur de Sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When the sugar mixture is a warm golden color, turn off the
heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be very careful, it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and
cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes reaches 248 degrees (firm ball)
on a candy thermometer. Very carefully
pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until
firm.

When the caramels are cold, pry the sheet from the pan onto
a cutting board. Cut the sheet in
half. Starting with the long side, roll
into one piece of the caramel up tightly into an 8 inch log. Repeat with the second piece. Sprinkle both logs with fleur de sel, trim
the ends, and cut each log in 8 pieces.
Cut glassine or parchment papers into 4 x 5 inch pieces and wrap each
caramel individually, twisting the ends.
Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I pre-ordered the new Barefoot Contessa Cookbook – Foolproof and it
finally arrived last week at my office.
I could hardly wait to browse through all of the recipes to see what I
would make first. After looking through,
the Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers just leaped off the page and those would be the
first recipe.

I have to say that I am not a jealous person, but today I
was. I was browsing facebook today and
saw a few of my co-workers who went to Palo Alto
to attend Ina Garten’s in person book signing.
How cool that they got to meet Ina! If you asked me which celebrity chef I would love to meet and hang out with, it would have to be Ina. I have all 7 of her books and this new one
makes eight. Ina has a knack for making
simple recipes that always come out perfect and taste fantastic. It is only appropriate that her latest book
is titled – “Foolproof”.

I read the recipe over a couple times and decided to double
the jalapeno and substitute the chipotle chili powder for the traditional
version. I found some extra sharp white
cheddar cheese from Trader Joe’s that was simply perfect. I just had to indulge in a slice or two of
cheddar while making the dough.

These crackers are simple, jam packed with flavor and
perfect for the Friday Night Bite series.
You can make the dough ahead of time, then simply slice and bake. You can kick these up a notch by serving a
bit of chili jam along side. A great
wine pairing for these crackers is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. One of my all time favorites is from KimCrawford from Marlborough, New
Zealand.
It is a high-spirited wine that is overflowing with flavors of pineapple
and stone fruit with a hint of herbaceousness.
On the nose is a spray of citrus and tropical fruits along with a slight
grassy undertone. It is bright, fun and
consistently a perfect Sauvignon Blanc in my book.

Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers

Makes 32 to 34 crackers

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

14 tablespoons cold butter, diced

5 ounces extra sharp white cheddar, grated

2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeno pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder

3 tablespoons ice water

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Fleur de sel or sea salt

Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor
and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse
meal. Add the cheddar, jalapeno, and
chili powder and pulse again. With the
food processor running, add the ice water all at once. Continue to pulsing until the mixture begins
to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a
floured board and roll it into a 14-inch log.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerator for at least one hour.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Cut the dough in 3/8-inch thick slices. Place the crackers on the prepared sheet pan,
brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden
brown. Serve slightly warm or at room
temperature.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

The last few evenings in the Bay Area have been extremely
chilly. It is great for staying inside
with a roaring fire and a lovely glass of cabernet sauvignon along with
watching a great movie. Hubby and I
certainly enjoy our television time. I
must admit that BravoTv captures the majority of our time.

Yes, hubby enjoys watching the Real Housewives series with
me, with the exception of one city which will remain nameless. I on the other hand love all cities. Bravo certainly has a knack for casting, editing,
and storytelling with real people or shall I say hiring an entertaining cast of
characters. Several co-workers are fascinated by this series along with me. Sometimes when others who don’t engage in
this addiction hear us talk, they think we are talking about people we really
know. In a way, we do know them. Smile.
It is simply a great escape from the day to day stresses.

While sitting watching television there is nothing better
than a tasty crunchy snack. Recently I
came across this recipe for this savory and spicy nut snack and knew it had to
be created soon. The recipe could not
have been easier and the majority of the ingredients most folks probably
already have in their pantry. If not, a
quick stop to the grocery store would do the trick. I changed up the recipe slightly by combining
macadamia nuts along with the pecans and increasing the garlic powder and dried
mustard requirements to kick up the flavors.
The outcome is an addictive snack that I had to put some “portion
controls” on by serving in a small bowl – otherwise I would eat more than I
needed. Enjoy this simply sublime snack!

Savory and Spicy Nuts

2 cups pecan halves

2 cups macadamia nuts

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground mustard

½ teaspoon Tabasco
sauce, or to taste

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Place the nuts in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl whisk together the melted
butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, ground mustard, Tabasco
and cayenne. Pour the butter mixture
over the nuts and stir until well combined.
Taste a nut and add more Tabasco
or cayenne if desired.

Arrange the nuts on a large sheet pan and bake for 20 to 22
minutes until toasted and lightly browned, stirring halfway during cooking time
to prevent burning Remove from the oven
and cool completely, tossing occasionally, before transferring to an airtight
container.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Hubby LOVES a great cocktail meatball! If he could enjoy these little nuggets of joy
everyday, I am sure he would. Recently on
Pinterest, one of my social media addictions (smile), I came across this recipe
and immediately pinned to make and share on my weekly series – Friday Night
Bites. I essentially doubled the sauce recipe, altered a few measurements and added a bit of garlic powder.

We had plans last weekend to get together with one of our
neighbors for wine and appetizers. This
gathering had been completely overdue.
With exceedingly busy lives, it seems more challenging to set aside time
to simply enjoy getting together with friends and get a mutually convenient
date on the calendar. Last weekend was
that weekend – we made it work – yeah!

We enjoyed a mini progressive wine and appetizer get
together. Hubby and I started over at
our neighbor’s house to enjoy a lovely bottle of Riesling from Germany
along with a beautiful spread of tasty appetizers. The final stop in this mini progressive
appetizer dinner was our house. We joked
by asking each other, “Who was going to drive to the next house?” If you know
me, I never want my guests to go hungry, so of course I cooked up a feast of
appetizers.

The Bourbon Cocktail Meatballs were the hands down
favorite. They could not be simpler to
make. I served a 2009 SonomaValley ‘Montecillo’ Cabernet
Sauvignon from Keating Wines. This wine has dark fruit that was prominent on
both the palate and nose, along with hints of cedar and a smoky edge and was perfectly
balanced. I picked up three bottles on
my last trip to Sonoma. In my
opinion, this is a hidden gem of a winery in Sonoma
and well worth a visit!

Bourbon Cocktail Meatballs

1 Pound Frozen Meatballs (I used the party meatballs from
Trader Joe’s)

1 Cup Ketchup

1 Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Bourbon Whiskey

2 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice

2 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

¼ Teaspoon Garlic Powder

In a medium sauce pan, combine all of the ingredients except
the meatballs. Mix until well combined.

Place the frozen meatballs into the sauce and combine. Let cook on medium heat until slightly
bubbly. Reduce the heat to low and
simmer for at least one hour. Serve with
toothpicks or small cocktail forks.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

It has been a week since super storm Sandy
pounded and devastated so many people on the East Coast. I can’t help but want to extend a helping
hand to all of the folks in need. It is
heart wrenching to watch the television and see the images of destruction that
so many have endured. My company’s
founder is matching the donations that each employee gives to the American Red Cross – that will be my initial outreach to help. I believe the Red Cross is the best
organization to bring immediate assistance to all in need.

Last weekend I introduced my weekend series, Simply Sublime. It will focus on recipes that
are simple yet full of flavor without a million ingredients. Sublime to me, means the melding of flavors which creates
that “wow” factor for your senses. While
browsing through Pinterest, I came across this recipe for Lemon Sandwich Cookies from
Bakers Royal. I became instantly inspired. I was not quite in the mood for lemon but
chocolate and espresso were on my mind.
With a few tweaks, I transformed it into my version of Chocolate
Espresso Sandwich Cookies.

I used a piping bag to create the cookies. It was quite a work out for my arms, so I am
warning you now. Smile. The dough is rather
stiff and a bit of elbow grease is required. I just kept thinking about the end result and
the beautiful cookies that would soon be.
They reminded me of something that the Queen of England might enjoy
while sipping tea. I love hosting tea
parties and my next one needs to include both versions – a bit of lemon along
with this chocolate espresso delight.

I sent the entire batch with my hubby the next day for his
team to enjoy. When he got home to
report back, there was an overwhelming thumbs up.

Chocolate Espresso Sandwich Cookies

Makes 20 to 24 Cookies

Cookie

½ Cup Butter, softened

1/3 Cup Sugar

½ Cup Confectioner Sugar

1 Large Egg, plus one egg yolk

3 Tablespoon Dark Cocoa Powder

1 ½ Cup Flour

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch

In an electric mixer, cream together the granulated and
confectioner sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in egg and egg yolk until combined.
Next add the cocoa powder until well mixed. Add the flour and cornstarch slowly until all
is incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large star
tip. Pipe the dough in a circular motion
working from the outside toward the center.
Should be about 1 ½ inches wide.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Filling

4 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature

¼ Cup Butter, softened

1 Cup Confectioner sugar

1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder (Use a bit less if
desired)

Beat the cream cheese and butter until combined. Add the sugar and espresso powder and mix
well.

Assembly

Spread about a teaspoon or two of filling on underside of
chocolate cookie and place a second chocolate cookie bottom side down on top of
filling. Dust with powdered sugar if
desired. Keep in an air tight container
to keep fresh.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Can you believe
that today is November first?I am
grappling with how quickly time is going this year.I know fall is upon us, since we in the Bay
Area have already had a few rain storms along with our Indian summer.This weekend it really hits home, we turn the
clocks forward.Yikes – it will be dark
so early.The good news is that it gets
lighter earlier, which will make easier to get out of bed during the work week.

It is also time
for Friday Night Bites - my weekly series that highlights a tasty appetizer
along with a delightful wine pairing.While browsing through recipes a few weeks ago, I came across this
recipe for Zucchini Crostini. I altered it slightly. Say “Zucchini
Crostini” a few times out loud and you will begin to laugh.Are you laughing yet? Smile.

I am completely
game for a fun Crostini that packs bursts of flavors and this one certainly did
not disappoint.My hubby is not a zucchini
fan; however, over the years I have been able to convert him.He certainly enjoys my zucchini soup and my
stuffed zucchini with sausage and melted mozzarella cheese.Now with this appetizer, I can add another
zucchini favorite to the list.The key
is to make the mixture at least an hour ahead of time to let the flavors meld
together, then top the toasted Crostini.

I pulled a 1998
V. Sattui Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from our wine cellar to
enjoy.As my hubby said, it had that “library
smell”, which means you could tell that it was aged well.He associates the library smell with the
scent from old library books, which is a good thing I guess. Smile.The library scent can also be translated to
black truffle, cedar, dusty earth and leather which were present on the
nose.On the palate, deep black cherry,
wild blackberry and plum and chocolate were evident.Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable wine
that we enjoyed with our zucchini Crostini.

Using a box grater, coarsely grate the zucchini. Place
the shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with
the 2 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze the towel to
remove excess moisture. Repeat until as much liquid as possible has been
released, then transfer the zucchini to a bowl.

Add the garlic, basil, almonds, thyme,
Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon juice, lemon zest and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil
to the zucchini; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and
refrigerate for an hour.

Brush each slice of the baguette with olive oil on both
sides and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
Flip the Crostini halfway through the baking time to ensure even
browning. Add more time if needed until
each one is golden brown. Let cool. Top each slice of bread with about 3
tablespoon* of the zucchini pesto and serve immediately.